2019-2020 Board
Charissa Weaks, PresidentCharissa Weaks is an author of historical fantasy and speculative fiction. She crafts stories with magic, time travel, romance, and history, and the occasional apocalyptic quest. Her favorite books span genres, from Outlander, The Nightingale, and All The Light We Cannot See, to Dark Matter, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Bridges of Madison County, and The Humans. She also loves the short stories of Kelly Link and digging through four-hundred-year-old texts for research. When she’s not writing, you can find Charissa lost in a book.
Charissa lives just south of Nashville with her husband, children, two wrinkly English Bulldogs, and the sweetest German Shepherd in existence. She is active in the Historical Novel Society, has been named Pro-Liason and President-Elect for her local Romance Writers of America chapter, the Music City Romance Writers, and is a member of the Women’s Fiction Association. Email president@mcrw.com
Terri Osburn writes contemporary romance with heart, hope, and lots of humor. After landing on the bestseller lists with her Anchor Island Series, she moved on to the Ardent Springs series, which earned her a Book Buyers Best award in 2016. Her new Shooting Stars series is set against the glittering and gritty world of the Nashville country music scene. Terri’s work has been translated into five languages, and has sold more than a million copies worldwide. She resides in middle Tennessee with her college-student daughter, four frisky felines, and two high-maintenance terrier mixes. Learn more about this author and her books at www.terriosburn.com. Email pres-elect@mcrw.com
As a child, award-winning author Kim Law cultivated a love for chocolate, anything purple, and creative writing. She penned her debut work, "The Gigantic Talking Raisin," in the sixth grade and got hooked on the delights of creating stories. Before settling into the writing life, however, she earned a college degree in mathematics and worked as a computer programmer.
Now she's pursuing her lifelong dream of writing romance novels. She has won the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart Award, has been a finalist for the prestigious RWA RITA Award, and has served in varied positions for her local RWA chapter. A native of Kentucky, Kim lives with her husband and an assortment of animals in Middle Tennessee. www.kimlaw.com Email vicepresident@mcrw.com
Kat O'Nell, SecretaryKat O’Nell didn’t choose the romance writer life. A fair share of failed relationships forced her to live vicariously through the love lives of her many characters. Despite that, she believes in love. However imperfect, messy, and outrageous it can be, love is worth every single tear, heart break, and nonsense we do in its name.
Kat’s stories are full of heart and hope. No matter how many curve balls life throws at them, her characters push their hearts to the limits in search of acceptance, friendship, and love.
Kat also gives voices to women who may find themselves helpless and fighting for their self-worth and dignity. As a domestic violence survivor, Kat’s message to her readers is strong and clear—you are not alone and there is help.
Kat found herself and healed her many wounds by writing her heart out. She is a founding member and an active contributor of an amazing writing tribe, the Night Writers, where sassy romance writers plot edgy romance stories and talk books, sex, men, and children who grow up way too fast.
Today, Kat and her family live in Nashville, TN and tolerate its humidity and a high level of pollen. Armed with antihistamines and a portable mini fan, Kat finds herself invincible in the scorching heat of the South.
In the near future, Kat fancies herself walking the Cliffs of Moher and meeting the Queen of England and her adorable dorgis, Vulcan and Candy. Kat O’Nell is a PRO member of Romance Writers of America (RWA), and a member of Music City Romance Writers (MCRW), a local chapter in Nashville, TN. Her website is https://authorkatonell.com/about/ Email secretary@mcrw.com
Susan Bickford, Treasurer
Susan is the result of centuries of alien-human hybridization. She has a kid in college, writes lots of books, works a full time job in an art deco knick knack custom furniture kind of store, paints gorgeous ceilings and walls, of all things, and sleeps sometimes. Email treasurer@mcrw.com
Non-Board Positions
Jody Wallace writes sf/f and contemporary romance, crochets, freelance edits, tap dances, herds children, and gets bossed around by cats. www.jodywallace.com
Betty Unkel, Membership Coordinator
Betty Unkel is a native Texan who moved to Tennessean twenty-five years ago. She works out of her home for an Alaskan Native-owned company, loves to travel (when it's not for work), and writes sweet contemporary romance.
Charissa Weaks, PRO Coordinator
(See above)
(See above)
To contact the Board, simply email board@mcrw.com